Year 6 · Autumn 1.1 · Step 4

Living things & their habitats

Classify plants

The same key skill, now on plants — flowering and non-flowering, and a brand-new word: coniferous.

Arrival Starter I do We do Independent Exit ticket
🌱 Seedling · Working towards 🌿 Sapling · Expected 🌳 Oak · Greater depth

⏱ Whole lesson ≈ 44 min · pick a tier in the bar, or leave on "All"

Arrival 4 min

Whiteboard task as you come in — recap of last lesson: classification keys.

Recap: classification keys

🌱 Seedling
Working towards

Circle the good key question:

"Is it lovely?" · "Does it have wings?"
🌿 Sapling
Expected
  1. What kind of answer does a key question need?
  2. Give one good key question.
  3. Why avoid "Is it big?"
🌳 Oak
Greater depth

Write the first yes/no question you'd use to start a key for plants.

Bridge into todayWe classified animals with a key. Today we point the same tool at plants — and meet a new group: coniferous.
Starter 5 min

Show the plants. Find ways to split them.

Odd one out

🌹 rose   🌿 fern   🌵 cactus   🌻 sunflower   🍄 mushroom

🌱 Seedling
Working towards

Which two make flowers? Which one is not a plant at all?

🌿 Sapling
Expected

Pick the odd one out and say why. Is there more than one right answer?

🌳 Oak
Greater depth

A mushroom has a "stem". Why is it not a plant? What is it?

I do · 1 6 min

Teacher models. Watch, then sort the plant groups.

How do we group plants?

▶ Can't see it? Watch "Deciduous and Evergreen Trees" on YouTube

Swap the clip: change the ID after /embed/ (now IECBPLj6LAg).

Say thisFirst split: does it make flowers? Flowering plants make flowers, fruit and seeds. Non-flowering plants (ferns, moss) make spores.
🌸
Floweringflowers & seeds
🌿
Non-floweringspores
🍂
Deciduousdrops leaves
🌲
Coniferouscones, evergreen
We do · 1 6 min

Classify plants with a key together.

Follow the plant key

🌷 tulip   🌿 fern   🌲 pine   🌳 oak

One question at a time
Does it make flowers? → Does it keep its leaves all year? → Does it grow cones?
"The pine keeps its leaves and grows cones, so it is coniferous."
I do · 2 4 min

Bust the tree myths, then watch the seasons.

Deciduous, evergreen, coniferous

Deciduous Evergreen

Deciduous trees drop their leaves in autumn; evergreens keep theirs all year.

Model the wordsDeciduous = loses its leaves in autumn (oak). Evergreen = keeps leaves all year (holly). Coniferous = evergreen tree that grows cones, not flowers (pine).

Watch for: judging by looks alone — a mushroom has a "stem" but it's a fungus, not a plant.

We do · 2 5 min

Sort the trees together and name a feature.

Which type of tree?

🌳 oak   🌲 fir   🎄 pine   🌿 holly   🍁 maple

Say it like a scientist
"A fir is a coniferous tree because it stays green all year and grows cones."
Independent 10 min

On your own. Sort every tree, then write your evidence at your tier.

The Tree Sorter

🍂 Deciduous

🌿 Evergreen

🌲 Coniferous

Tap a tree to sort it…

🌱 Seedling
Working towards

Sort into loses leaves / keeps leaves. Then finish:

"A ____ is deciduous because it ____ its leaves."
🌿 Sapling
Expected

Sort all three bins. Write for one tree its type and a feature.

🌳 Oak
Greater depth

All conifers are evergreen, but not all evergreens are conifers. Explain the difference, using holly and pine.

Exit ticket 4 min

Answer at your tier, then hand it in.

Show what you know

🌱 Seedling
Working towards
  • Match: deciduous → keeps / loses leaves
  • A ____ plant makes flowers and seeds.
  • Circle the conifer: oak · pine · rose
🌿 Sapling
Expected
  1. What is a coniferous tree?
  2. Difference between deciduous and evergreen?
  3. Name a non-flowering plant.
🌳 Oak
Greater depth

A friend says "a mushroom is a plant because it has a stem." Are they right? Explain.

🧭 Coming nextWe can classify plants and animals. Next we shrink down to living things too small to see — microorganisms.
TA Focus · Classify plants
Traps to watch

"Anything with a stem is a plant" — a mushroom is a fungus. "Coniferous" is new — link it to cones + evergreen (pine).

Tier steer
Always

Classify by features (flowers, cones, leaves), not by first impressions.
Cold Call · Question bank
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